Reloading for .25-06

Looking for suggestions on premium 120 grain hunting bullets for the .25-05. The rifle is a Ruger No. 1B primarily used for pronghorn hunting but also used as a backup rifle taken on open country deer hunts.

The rifle is extremely accurate with Winchester 120gr. PXP factory loads consistently producing 3 round cloverleafs at 100 yards. However these are not always available which is one of the reasons why I'm working up handloads. Complicating the issue Winchester does not offer the .25 PXP bullet as a component.

I stated load development with Hornady 120gr. HP bullets. After experimenting with a couple of different powders and seating depths, I was getting 3 round groups right around 1" with 53.4 grains of H4831SC. Higher powder charges caused groups to open up. Switching over to the Nosler 120gr. Partition at the same seating depth and powder charge the groups increased to about 3". Again, the groups opened up with higher powder charges as they did with the Hornady bullets.

I've typically used Hornady bullets when working up loads for a new rifle. They're economical and have given me a good baseline to know what powders and seating depths a particular rifle likes. After doing my initial development with them, I'll switch to the bullet that I want to use for hunting and tweak the load further. Any differences in group size that I have seen have been small after making the switch, noting like tripling in size as my No. 1 did when switching to the Nosler Partitions.

So looking for suggestions on what to try next...

You will need to experiment with the seating depth on the Nosler bullet, as these are different in length and ogive than the Hornady 120gr. HP's. I do like Nosler Partitions, but you might want to try a Hornady 117gr. spitzer. You also may see if your accuracy improves by using IMR-4350. 4831 is a fine choice for the 25-06, but sometimes the 117-120gr. 25cal. bullets group tighter with the slightly faster burning 4350. Your gain in accuracy may be well worth a slight drop off in velocity.

twenty five wohh six....

honestly for antelope/deer hundred grain bullets are where it is at..

that being said my gun liked 4350 quite well with 120's at about 2900-3000 however I got more velocity and equally good accuracy with imr4831. That being said my gun seems to like to give the best combination of accuracy and velocity with imr 4831. I think that you only need 120's if you are trying to use the gun for elk and bear. A 100 grain bullet at 3400 is plenty hard hitting with flat trajectory.

I've owned a few 25-06's and am currently looking for another one.

In my Ruger 77 I had great success with H-870. I used 64 grains of it under several different 120 grain bullets. I used WLPM primers and both Rem, and W-W cases with the Speer 120 BT, and I was getting 3150 fps @ 15', with groups running right at 1.13" average for 5 shot strings.

With the same load in my Remington Classic, I got 1.1" 5shot strings, but the velocity in that gun was lower at 2940 fps @ 15'.

55 grains of H-4831 standard cut under the Speer 120 FB gave me .440" 5 shot ave., and a velocity of 3050 fps ave @ 15'.

All of the above loads were tested at 100 yards. I have lots of other loads in my log book, but those above are similar to what you are looking to do.

Remember that the loads listed above were worked up to in MY rifles, using referrence sources from the mid-late '80's that I had/have on hand. Use at your own discretion, but start low and work up in your gun to a safe maximum.

The .25-06 has been a favorite of mine for many years. I, too, have a Ruger Number 1, and spent a considerable amount of effort developing a hunting load for it.

I settled on the Remington CoreLokt 120-grain , a flat-base spitzer design. These used to be available from Midway in bulk quantities for a very reasonable price. Performance on mule deer and elk has proven to be excellent, including hits that penetrated through bone without breaking up.

My cases are Frankfort Arsenal .30-06 Match, resized to .25-06, full-length sized, trimmed to 2.484", and I use the Lyman M-die for precise neck expansion (rather than using the standard expander ball in the sizing die). CCI 200 standard primers and 49 grains of IMR 4831 has given me excellent accuracy (frequent 5 shot groups under 1" at 100 yards). I seat the bullets out to just contact the rifling (COL 3.380" in my rifle, which exceeds SAAMI spec), so my loads are strictly for my rifle (won't even fit into a magazine rifle). Crimp is not an issue, as this is a single-shot rifle.

The Ruger #1 is an excellent platform for this cartridge, providing far more flexibility in bullet seating, etc. I toyed with the idea of buying a bullet swaging set-up to make heavier bullets in .25 caliber (around 140 grains) but never got around to it.

Many happy days at the range and in the field since 1975, when I bought the Ruger #1 for $259.00 (on layaway, $20 per month for a year out of my policeman's salary of $800 or so while raising two kids and making house payments of $182 per month; THOSE WERE THE DAYS!).

I have 30+ years of experience with the .25-06. Every gun is different as to the bullet it likes. Mine liked Sierra 117 gr Spitzers and shot those extremely accurately. After trying lots of different powders I settled on IMR4350 as it worked well with all bullet weights. Others worked just as well but sometimes accuracy suffered on a different weight bullet. I've used IMR4350 with bullet weights from 87 to 120 gr.

Also, depending on twist 120 is about the heaviest useable weight for the 06.

I have also started playing around with Berger bullets. They have a 115 gr bullet that my rifle likes. This bullet also has the highest BC I've ever seen in any .257 bullet.

If I had one complaint with the .25 it is that most of the bullets offered don't have a high BC, most are somewere in the .300 range.

If you really think you need a premium bullet for speed goats, try the BARNES TSX, particularly the 100gr, with whatever slow powder you have/like. You might also try mag primers for hunting.

The 100 gr Sierra BT is another very accurate bullet and works well on deer as well.

Either one will go 3300 to 3400 out of your gun.

Good shooting.

I am partial to the Hornayd 100 grain spire point. It was designed for the 257 Weatherby and is still a factory load. It will hold together in deer, even when pushed hard. I load it with RL-22, a bit below the Hornady manual max. I shoot it in a 700 and a Ruger No. 1 Varmint model.

yup

the 100 grain hornady flat base is a really good 25 caliber bullet. I have used it in everything from 250 savage to 257 weatherby with awesome results. It does hold together very well even after expanding....I also recommend it. Nosler ballistic tips are good but you don't want the impact velocity to be more than 3200 or you get the bullets starting to come apart. That being said they have a good ballistic coefficient so they are good for speed goats at long range.

i tried 6 primers,4 powders, 4weights, and 3 fractory loads. my best is fed. gold metal match,51.5 grs 4350 with 110gr accubond

Don't shoot .25-06 anymore, but when I did, my load was the Sierra 100 gr. BT and IMR-4064. I've had the experience of Nosler partitions not shooting quite as tight a group as another bullet of the same weight, but never as drastic as your results. Nosler also makes a 115 gr. partition .257, might want to try them. I have always had great results with partition Noslers in everything from the 60 gr. .224 to 250 gr. .338. They work.

The slower 120gr will not drift in the wind as much and will also destroy less meat on the Antelope, that is alreay meat shy !!
Sure the fast 100gr will kill "Lope" but it will also destroy a lot of meat if it hits a rib bone on entry.

You never know what bullet will work best,since evry rifle is different................ but the 256 Newton wildcat that I loaded for liked the 120gr bullet best and it was one accurate machine.

Try the Barnes TTSX bullets. They are very accurate. I have never been able to shoot small groups with any of the Nosler Partition bullets. You will love the performance of the barnes bullets, expectantly our there at 300-400 yards on a "speed goat".

With my Rem700 BDL, 24", I've had exceptional performance using the old Nosler 120 Solid Base, over 52 grains of RL22, Fed LR, brass FL sized to just bump the shoulder, 3.185" COL. 0.35" group personal best.

I've tried H4831, IMR4350, IMR7850, RL17, & all work well - but RL22 is tops.

For what it's worth, I miss my old No.1-B in 25-06, not to mention my old No.1-A / 7x57, & No.1-S / 45-70...

As someone mentioned..Try the Nosler 115 Partition. A long long time ago I bought a 100 lbs of Hodgdon 4831 surplus. My momma had to get it from the Railway Express as I was too young to sign for it..even in the little town where everybody knew ya. Heck I didn't even have a drivers license anyway. I literally used almost all of it in 25-06 rifles...starting before the 25-06 was a factory round..well before. One of my most accurate loads was a 117 gr bullet. But being a 25 val guy and bullets not really being available at the time..not good ones anyway. I swaged my own..Rock Chuck Bullet swage ya know. Still have the press and dies for more than one caliber too. The 115 Nosler is a really good bullet at a little higher velocity than the 120. The 120s are about as long a (hunting)bullet as can be shot in the 25-06 and is not as accurate as somewhat lighter ones. As stated the Noslers are not always as accurate as some other bullets out there. My 25-06s all shoot the Barnes bullets well...but they are spendy. I also have had quite a few Number ones.but at the present time I don't have one in 25-06. I do however have one custom rifle in the caluiber and a couple of Kimbers. Both Kimbers average under an inch with the 115 Noslers and are what I use for elk in the caliber. The 115 does not shoot quite as well in the 257 Weatherby for me. My 257 AI shoots it extremely well..at about the same velocities as the 25-06. I carry a 300 Win mag for elk when the grizz are very active though. The 257 Weatherby is an antelope lazer though and likes the 117 BTSP. At one time it was very hard to find GOOD 25 caliber bullets so I made my own. I used if my memory serves me well(I have oldtimers) Sierra jackets from many years ago...and possibly others. My loading data for quite a few years...was aize/deprime Winchester 270 brass..trim to length.reprime fill case to the base of the neck with surplus 4831 and seat the bullet(100gr and under). With decent bullets that load always shot well. Other than that I do not write loads down for others to use. Some rifles will not handle some loads that others will; Surprisingly one 25-06 was probably the most accurate rifle I have ever had and it was a factory Ruger with standard mid-weight bbl. It was a half inch rifle with 87 and 100 gr Sierras until it had 3500 rounds through it. I still have 3 lbs of that ol surplus 4831. Been nursing it along for a few years now. But I just found a sealed 25 lb cardboard keg of it for 5 bucks a lb. Mine cost 80 cents a pound. Think I'm gonna have to buy it